Spacer for panels of display-fixtures



H. v. LOUGH.

SPACER FOR PANELS 0F DISPLAY FIXTURES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16, 1918.

Patented June 22, 1920.

|OOOOQOOO0.00000QOQQQQ INVENTOR MM Z 9 BY ATTORNEY/ UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

HECTOR v. LOUGH, 0F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR ToUNIvERsAL'FI'xTURE CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

SPACER FOR PANELS OF DISPLAY-FIXTURES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 22, 1920.

Application filed November 16, 1918. Serial No. 262,859..

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HECTOR V. LOUGH, asubject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Hartford, countyof Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Spacers for Panels of Display-Fixtures, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention has relation to that class of display fixtures in which aseries of horizontally swinging frames are employed for holding thearticles to be displayed, each of these frames being pivoted at itsinner end upon a vertical axis and the pivots of these frames beingsuitably spaced apart to enable the frames to be readily swung from oneside to the other in the manner of the leaves of an album, means beingprovided on the top edges of the swinging frames to variably space theframes'apart to prevent the articles afiixed to the frames contactingwith each other or with the opposite frames. The present invention isintended to improve the spacing device to the end that it shall be notonly stronger and more substantial in construction, but shall also havea wider range of adjustment, as more fully set forth.

In the drawings annexed Figure 1 is a plan view of the display apparatusprovided with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of one of the spacing devices.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof, the top or other display frame beingshown in cross section.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of one of the spacing devices, and

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section, taken through the anchored end ofthe spacing device.

This invention may be embodied in a number of specifically differentstructures, but I prefer the structure illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. In this structure I employ a pair of arms a which areoverlapped at their inner ends and pivotally clamped to the top rail ofthe display frame by a clamp screw 6, the overlapped parts 0 beingcircular in shape to provide an ample frictional and supporting area,these disklike members being radially corrugated correspondingly toinsure their being locked in their adjusted position.

Pivotally connected to the outer or free end of each of the arms'a is afiat link d, and the outer ends of these links are overlapped andpivotally connected together by avertical pivot e, the depending end ofthis pivot being provided with the usual elastic buffer f adapted toreceive the impact of the adjacent panel.

. With this construction it will be seen that when the arms a areadjusted toward each other, the links d will be advanced outwardly andthus move the buffer f farther from the display frame, and when the armsa are adjusted away from each other, the links 6 will be drawn inwardly,as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, to thus bring the buffer or stop 7nearer to the frame which carries the spacing device. It will thus beseen that I provide a spacing device of substantial construction and onewhich has a wide range of adjustment. It will be seen also that thebuffer f may be brought quite close to the display frame by reason ofthe fact that the arms a may be swung backwardly to a position directlyover and nearly parallel with the top rail of the display frame, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, or even to a position back of thepivotal point of the arms.

A further important feature of the invention consists in providing thehubs 0 of arms a with cooperating sets of radially extendingcorrugations. These corrugations or alternate grooves and ridges serveto lock arms a and consequently also links d in their adjusted positionswhen screw 6 is tightened, and thus )revent accidental variation of thelength of the spacer. It will also be observed that the up or side ofthe tubular top rail of the pane g is adapted to engage in twooppositely disposed grooves in the hub c of the lower arm a, as shown inFigs. 3 and '5, so that when screw 6 is threaded into plug it in thetubular top rail of panel 9 the spacer will be held against lateralmovemen A single spacing device may be secured to each display frame, asshown at the lefthand side of Fig. 1; or, if desired, two spacers may besecured to a frame and extend in opposite directions, as shown at theright-hand side of Fig. 1. In this latter arrangement the alternateframes are without spacers, and one screw is used to secure both spacers1n positlon.

Having thus described the preferred form of my invention, what I claimis 1. In a display fixture, the combination of a support, a plurality ofswinging panels mounted on the support, and a spacer carried by one ofsaid panels comprising a pair of relatively movable arms pivotallyconnected with each other and with an edge of the panel at one end, apair of links pivotally connected with the free ends of said arms, anelongated pivot pin connecting the outer ends of the links, and a sleeveof yieldahle material surrounding said pin at one side of the links andadapted to engage an adjacent panel.

2. The combination with a swinging panel of a display fixture of aspacer comprising a pair of arms each having a hub portion formed withradially extending grooves and ridges, a clamping screw extendingaxially through said hub portions and threaded into one edge of thepanel for adjustably locking the arms to each other and to the edge ofthe panel, a pair of links pivotally connected with the free ends of thearms, an

elongated pivot pin connecting the outer ends of the links together, anda pad of yieldable material surrounding said pin at one side of thelinks.

3. The combination with a display apparatus embodying a series ofswinging panels, of a spacing device for the panels embodying a pair ofarms and a screw clamp device for pivotally clamping them to one edge ofa panel, the ends of the arms being overlapped so as to have frictionalengagement with each other and both arms being adapted to be swungbackwardly across the edge of the panel, and link pivoted to the outerend of each one of said arms and having their outer ends pivotallyconnected together and provided with a buffer.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

HECTOR V. LOUGH.

